Meet Ivelisse Rivera, farm manager at MOFGA certified organic Darthia Farm in Gouldsboro.Darthia Farm is owned by Cynthia and Bill Thayer, who, with their family, hire help and MOFGA apprentices, raise produce, herbs and livestock and sell their produce, fiber products, and jams, jellies and other goods from their commercial kitchen at their farm store, at farmers’ markets, through their CSA and through their catalog.

Community rallies for artMaine Sunday Telegram - 10/21/2012. By Bob Keyes – Hallowell: The folks who run the Harlow Gallery like to think big. They do their share of small exhibitions that go up and come down, with little fanfare. But now and again, they do something way beyond expectation. That's the case with the gallery's latest project, "CSA: Community Supporting Arts."

Local food distribution goes bi-coastal with new partnershipTreehugger - 10/20/2012. By Mat McDermott – Farmers markets may be great in bringing together local food producers and local food consumers, but without having distribution alternatives to the mega-distributors and markets there's a missing link in the chain of local/regional food production. One new way of addressing that is the new partnership between FoodHub, Ecotrust, and OR FoodEx.

Russell Libby To Speak at Conference On Slow FoodMOFGA Announcements - 10/19/2012.The University of Maine and ESTIA, a non-profit and non-governmental organization based in Maine and dedicated to the protection of cultural and biological diversity, will host the 9th Annual ESTIA Conference, on Slow Food: A Model for Sustainable and Healthy Living.

A simple fix for farmingThe New York Times - 10/19/2012. By Mark Bittman – It’s becoming clear that we can grow all the food we need, and profitably, with far fewer chemicals. And I’m not talking about imposing some utopian vision of small organic farms on the world. Conventional agriculture can shed much of its chemical use – if it wants to.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m., MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center, Unity. Keynote speaker John Aber and a panel of farmers focus on weather- and climate-related changes farmers are experiencing. Includes open discussion on strategies for farmers to deal with changing climate. Information and registration.

Thursday, 10 a.m. to noon, Houlton Higher Education Center, Rm 110, 18 Military St, Houlton. Presented by Eric Sideman, Crop Specialist, MOFGA. Hosted by the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District. The class is the second in a three-part high tunnel series funded by the Broad Reach Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. 1 pesticide credit is available through the class. A complementary lunch will be served. Pre-registration is requested. Contact the SASWCD at 532-2087 x 101 or angela.wotton@me.nacdnet.net

11 a.m., Bernard Osher Foundation Auditorium, Portland Museum of Art. Join this panel of experts on local sustainability in their discussion of the importance of public food forests, public orcharding, edible street trees, permablitzing and community gardens. A Community Collaboration between Portland Museum of Art and MOFGA. Free for PMA and MOFGA members ($10 for the general public). Schedule and details.

Two-part course designed to provide farmers with a strong background in soils, weeds and pest management, enabling them to make good management decisions. Lectures by Eric Sideman, MOFGA's organic crop specialist, and local farmers. Information and registration.

Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Locations: Palermo with Angus Deighan; Beech Hill Farm, Mount Desert with C.J. Walke; or Kermit Nickerson School, Swanville with Sean Murphy. Do you have old trees on your land that you would like to bring back into production? Learn how to renovate and tend your heritage trees. $50 non-members; $35 members. Information and registration.

6:30 p.m., Bernard Osher Foundation Auditorium, Portland Museum of Art. Hear Christy Hemenway from Gold Star Honeybees, Heather Spalding, MOFGA deputy director, and Fedco Seeds founder CR Lawn talk about our pollinators and the national and local issues that concern them and our food supply. Maine honey and mead tasting to follow. A Community Collaboration between Portland Museum of Art and MOFGA. Free for PMA and MOFGA members ($10 for the general public). Schedule and details.